Lifeguard Impaled by 6-Foot Umbrella

A New Jersey lifeguard survived being impaled by a 6-foot beach umbrella Wednesday morning at Asbury Park Beach. First responders had to cut the pole, which was around an inch in diameter, at both ends with a handsaw so the young woman could fit into an ambulance. "She basically had a 6-foot umbrella pole that entered into her left armpit and exited out the left side of her back," Battalion Chief Chris Barkalow of the Asbury Park Fire Department tells the Philadelphia Inquirer. The woman is believed to be 19 or 20 years old. Her fellow lifeguards provided first aid before the fire department and EMS arrived, WABC reports.

She was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, the New York Post reports. Rescuers say the lifeguard remained alert and conscious throughout the ordeal. "She seemed a lot better off than I would be," Barkalow says. Asbury Park Fire Chief Kevin Keddy describes her as "a tough young woman." It's not clear exactly how she became impaled—some reports say wind knocked her off a lifeguard stand onto the pole, others that she was impaled while sitting on the stand. Keddy says beachgoers should remember to make sure umbrellas are secure in the sand, and to always carry them with the point down.